This discovery — that you can tell almost any lie without paying a price — is, in some sense, an example of national politics becoming a lot more like local politics. Blatant lying has always been routine in local races that don’t get a lot of press coverage, but the brighter media spotlight kept at least a bit of a lid on it in higher-profile races. However, with the splintering of the mainstream national media in recent years and the rise of the web and social media, national politics is local again. And being called on your lies by the occasional earnest fact checker now matters about as much as it does when a local columnist for a weekly newspaper calls you on it. It takes a while for people to realize that norms have changed and to take advantage of it. Lots of politicians are probably still reluctant to lie too brazenly because they’re still working under the old rules, where the national media might call you on it and it might actually make a difference. The smart ones have figured out that this isn’t how it works anymore. Romney’s one of the smart ones.
Time was when we expected honesty from our politicians. We didn’t get it, of course, but the expectation was there, and so we got what amount to bad kabuki theater. Politicians lied, we knew they lied…and yet for some reason we expected them to retain the patina of integrity.
Now it appears the calculus has changed, and no one is playing the game better than Mitt Romney. Liars can lie without recourse, because they’ve discovered that in their rush to at least appear nonpartisan, the Mainstream Media won’t call them on it…particularly if the liar happens to be a Republican. Democrats are still expected to play by different, and more stringent, rules.
Mitt Romney has learned that, politically speaking, mendacity is a sin with no wages. It’s difficult to know whether or not Romney actual believes his lies, but he’s clearly convinced himself that truth is relative, and dependent on whatever he needs to bolster his political prospects at any point in time. No accusation, assertion, or attempt at character assassination is off limits if it serves his one and only purpose- being elected President of the United States.
As a wise man- OK, I think it was Newt Gingrich- once said that, if we can’t trust Romney to tell us the truth while he’s campaigning for President, how will we know he’ll tell us the truth when he actually becomes President? We don’t…but that’s beside the point. It’s not about honesty; it’s about saying whatever is necessary to win in November. Truth? That’s for losers and LIberals.
Of course, the truth doesn’t matter, not to Romney, anyway.
